A Russian-linked crypto exchange has frozen services after a major hack that emptied roughly 1 billion roubles (about $13 million) from its wallets.
Grinex announced the suspension Thursday, blaming the breach on "foreign intelligence services." The exchange said the "digital footprints" and sophistication of the intrusion point to capabilities only available to entities from "unfriendly states" and suggested the attack was designed to damage Russia’s financial sovereignty.
While Grinex is formally registered in Kyrgyzstan, blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic says the platform has deep ties to Russia and is one of the largest venues for converting Russian rubles into crypto. Elliptic also links Grinex to Garantex — a Russian exchange that was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and accused of laundering "hundreds of millions of dollars" tied to ransomware, darknet markets, and state-sponsored hacking groups.
Elliptic says Grinex likely shares common ownership and management with Garantex and was created as a workaround after Garantex faced sanctions. When Garantex was shuttered, much of its liquidity and customer base reportedly migrated to Grinex. In a separate action, Elliptic worked with the U.S. Secret Service to trace crypto wallets tied to Garantex, a move that helped freeze roughly $26 million in stablecoins.
The exchange is also identified as a primary trading venue for A7A5, a ruble-backed stablecoin that Elliptic describes as part of a Russian sanctions-evasion effort. That stablecoin is reported to have been used to move more than $100 billion.
The incident underscores growing scrutiny of crypto platforms operating around sanctioned actors, the complex cross-border flows of ruble-linked crypto, and the role of intelligence and law enforcement in tracking and freezing illicit funds.
Featured image: OpenArt. Chart: TradingView.
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